Interpersonal Communication Speech – Week 8 1

Interpersonal Communication

Communication has been considered as a vital tool since the existence of mankind. Every human being as well as animals have some form of communication. Communication can be verbal, incorporating writing or face-to-face conversations, or it can also be non-verbal, incorporating gestures and body language (West, 2010). From birth, interpersonal communication has been developed in people and this has enabled them to effectively relay information amongst themselves. Interpersonal communication refers to the process of sending and receiving information between two or more individuals (Trenholm & Jensen, 2008). This particular form of communication is further divided into public speaking, small-group communication and dyadic communication. Dyadic communication is a form of communication that incorporates only two individuals for instance during telephone conversations or a set of letters between pen-pals (Wood, 2009).

The main elements included in interpersonal communication are the sender or one who sends the information, the receiver or one who receives the information sent, the message itself which is the content of information sent by the sender and the feedback which refers to the response from the receiver (West, 2010). To have an understanding of interpersonal communication is to possess an important tool in establishing good relations.

Deliverables

As it has been aforementioned patterns for communicating interpersonally have been developed over a number of years. Therefore, one should not be surprised or discouraged to discover that changing one’s interpersonal communication behavior takes time. In order for one to take this project, he/she needs to continue modifying, implementing and reinforcing these new behaviors for far longer than the duration needed. It is possible, however, to modify the way one communicates and since the payoff is improvement to communication and relationship outcomes, changing interpersonal communication is worth the effort (Trenholm & Jensen, 2008).

8A. The course material suggesting that this particular communication behavior was an appropriate target for change was the fact that the individuals in the project exhibited non-verbal communication behaviors that suggested so. This was indicated under 7A1. An example of this is from Joe who apparently is not capable of holding one conversation for longer periods of time. People like Joe are bound to lose track of the conversation and either start day-dreaming or think of other things to do. That is why the communicator opted for a short conversation period in an environment that Joe would be more comfortable. Joe and others like him also have a tendency of changing the subject matter being discussed and bring up other conversations that seem more interesting to their attention. The communicator apparently had a plan to carry out conversations with Joe, but the unexpected change in interpersonal communication forced him to adjust to what Joe wanted instead.

8B. The behaviors that particularly please the interpersonal communicator include the one with Brooke. Similar to Joe’s, this conversation was also planned to be short as Brooke is constantly busy with her online activities which makes her not even have time to go out for a break. In the course of their agreed interpersonal conversation, unexpected changes took place as initiated by Brooke herself. The unexpected circumstance that befell them amidst their planned conversation did not deter the communicator from exhibit a different communication behavior which in return was the most applicable in that particular situation. The nature as well as magnitude of the circumstances forced the conversation to be longer than initially expected and it was understandable. This suggests that the new communication behavior is a positive change as indicated in the course material 7A3.

8C. There were a few situations in which the communicator was dissatisfied with his approach to improving his interpersonal communication for instance during his conversation with his cousin Angela. Despite the fact that she is a good listener and one who takes her time to hear what a person has to say during interpersonal communication before airing her own views, she was not quite able to satisfy the communicator’s needs. In their lengthy conversation, Angela suddenly ventured into a number of aspects such as condescending attitudes and patronizing while communicating with another individual (Wood, 2009). This made the unplanned conversation not to favor the communicator’s terms leading to an atmosphere of considerable amount of confusion. In references to course material 7A3, this particular course material suggested that the communication behavior continued to be less than ideal. The communicator was also not quite prepared and well-equipped to handle such a situation. Another example where the communicator was dissatisfied is in the course material 7B2, where he states in is evaluation that his attempt to fully moderate the entire conversation did not go as planned (West, 2010). Using similar interpersonal communication mode with the different participants also did not work as these participants seemed to exhibit different ways of communicating.

8D. Some of the changes that the communicator would still like to make include taking into consideration different factors that tend to favor different communication situations. The communicator realized that in order to effectively communicate with people like Joe, one needs to address him in a way that drives home the key points slowly and clearly (Trenholm & Jensen, 2008). The course material that suggests this modification would complement or enhance the communication outcomes is the Evaluation in 7B1. The communicator also realized that what seemed to be working especially in his third planned conversation with Brooke was the utilization of precise time in order to make the conversation intensive, covering most of the areas related to the interpersonal communication behavior of compliments.

8E. The entire course project has changed the communicator’s interpersonal relationships as a result. This is indicated in the course material 7B5 and the entire 7C course material. From the conversations carried out by the different participants, the communicator realized that it would be appropriate to make the planned conversation on the basis of the entire interaction time in order to avoid any cases of unplanned conversations (Wood, 2009). He also learned that in the course of carrying out interpersonal communication, conversations are bound to unexpectedly change. It is therefore important for one to accept the conversation as it is and engage it before it is concluded (West, 2010). Another method that the communicator would implement next time is not to stick to the planned conversation as doing so tends to undermine the whole conversation. Additionally, as a way of avoiding any incidences of unplanned conversations, the communicator learned that it is better to include more people in the conversations in order to have different ideas from various individuals being shared. The entire course material indicated in 7C suggests that these particular relationship changes are positive if applied in the appropriate way.

References

Trenholm, S., & Jensen, A.R. (2008). Interpersonal Communication. 6th Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

West, R. (2010). Understanding Interpersonal Communication: Making Choices in Changing Times. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

Wood, J.T. (2009). Interpersonal Communication: Everyday Encounters. 6th Edition. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

Parth Vyas

Speech

Course project

Week - 7

It is important for one to have planned situations in which he or she can use to implement the new set of communication behaviors over a time span of one fortnight. A dated journal is equally instrumental in the preparation process as it narrates and describes what happened in the created circumstances. This paper entails three planned and unplanned conversations, including thoughts on the eventual outcome. These conversations will then be evaluated at length and their effectiveness as well as success determined.

7 A. 1. The first planned conversation is between my friend Joe and me. The planned conversation ought to take place in the open field where we like to hang out on weekends and have a good time. This seems liked the location as it is where Joe feels most relaxed and free. He considers the place as his serenity and has stated severally that he is at peace whenever he visits the site. The afternoon hours seem most appropriate as it is our usual time to relax and the day generally has little or no activities. The conversation is not expected to be very lengthy as Joe has no capability to hold one conversation for very long. I intend to use him in trying out my new behaviors and assess them. The behavior I intend to try out with him is the possibility to have my request heard without anyone feeling offended. It is a necessary communication behavior which plays a fundamental role in helping me achieve the general goal

In the course of planned conversation with Joe, another unexpected conversation sprang up. It so happened that the communication behavior that I was training on was forgotten and I acted in a way that I had not anticipated. Nevertheless, I managed to rectify the inappropriate communication behaviors and got back on track. The unplanned managed to enlighten me on certain aspects of the communication behavior that I was trying out.

7 A. 2 I then went ahead to have a second planned conversation with my cousin Angela in an attempt to try out the communication behavior of complimenting others while interacting. Since she loves to swim, I decided to treat her to her swimming outing in which we would have sufficient time to have fun and talk as well. She is a good listener, one who takes time to hear what a person has to say in a conversation before airing out her views. This prompted me to have a long conversation where I would compliment her and seek her comments on various ways in which one can be complimented and how best to deal with communication issues related to compliments. It is an equally important aspect of communication which needs proper training when communication with others. I therefore made sure that the conversation went on as positively as possible, with frequent interjections where necessary so that the trial aim of improving communication skills in complimenting others is improved.

Similarly, another unplanned conversation came about as a result of the lengthy conversation we were having with Angela. She ventured into various aspects such use of patronizing and condescending attitudes while communicating with another person. The unplanned conversation was not able to go by my terms as each respondent aired out their points at will and the general atmosphere was of considerable amount of confusion. It was not as long as the diversion from the initially planned conversation and it came to an end soon enough.

7 A. 3 I planned the third conversation to make in a situation where I would try out my communication behavior on agreement statements. As much as it may be taken for granted, agreement statements are crucial in a conversation as they summarize the entire conversation and all that persons have said. Therefore agreement statements form the basis of a well concluded conversation. This led to my planned conversation with Brooke, in which I intended to try my new communication skill on appropriate agreement statements. I set the location of our location to be the living room to her apartment where she works most of the time. She is constantly busy with her online activities that she rarely finds time to go out. I therefore planned for the conversation to be as brief as possible and give her room to precede with her other activities. The afternoon is her usual time for resting after the morning hour’s activities and the short time span enabled to shed light on various aspects of agreement statements as I practiced on the communication skill.

There was an unplanned conversation during the afternoon talk with Brooke. This unplanned conversation was initiated unknowingly due to the unexpected circumstance that befell us amidst the planned conversation. In turn, this led to a different conversation in which I managed to exhibit a different communication behavior which was most applicable in the situation. It turned to a longer conversation than either of us had expected, but to the nature and magnitude of the circumstances which led to the unplanned conversation, it was understandable. Nevertheless, it was soon concluded, surprisingly enough, with an agreement statement which was the communication behavior being tried out and improved.

7.B 1 Evaluation of the concluded planned conversation is important. This is because they help in scrutinizing the various facets of the conversations, which in turn shed light on how effective the conversations were. Primarily, different factors favor different situations differently. This was evident in the three planned conversations as they involved various persons with different traits in general. For the first planned conversation, the other participant was a rather irrational fellow, therefore addressing him in a manner that drives home the main points slowly and clear was the best way of communication with him and improving on the intended skill. In the second conversation, choosing a pass time activity that the other participant enjoyed managed to serve me well. She was able to open up and the trail conversation was able to gain explore the communication behavior of complimenting others at an extensive length. What seemed to work me in the third planned conversation was the use of precise time so as to make the conversation intensive and one that covers most of the areas related to the communication behavior of compliments.

7 B.2 In the three conversations, two issues seemed to be hard to apply and did not for me. The first issue was the attempt to fully moderate the entire conversation. This did not out well as the persons in he conversation were of different nature and getting to hear their ideas needed different amounts of time. The other issue which did not seem to work was the use of similar communication mode with the various participants, who seemed to portray different ways of communicating.

7 B. 3 The last two situations turned out to be successful as far as my goals were concerned. I managed to fully address the intended communication behaviors which I was trying out. Such success the planned conversation is a certain amount of a certainty that there was indeed an improvement in the particular communication behavior.

7 B. 4 The first behavior of communicating requests is one that I would like to perform again. Despite the eventual outcome which was rather successful, the situation did not turn out as the best and another shot at it would help me make it better.

7 B.5 There are several things that I will have to do differently the next time I prepare plan for a conversation. Firstly, the planned conversation will be the basis of the entire interaction time to avoid any cases of unplanned conversations. I will also have more persons in the conversations so that different ideas can be shared from the various people. The last area that would see a change is the length of conversations, which should be standard to enable more efficient assessment and comparison

7 C. 1 Generally, the unplanned conversations were unpredictable in all related aspects from their very occurrence to the conclusions. However, the aspect of accepting the conversation as it is and engaging it before its conclusion seemed to work. This enabled me test my versatility in changing communication situations.

7 C. 2 In the unplanned conversation, the attempt to stick to the planned conversation undermined the entire conversation, making it hard to communicate. This led to the alternative that has been stated earlier.

7 C. 3 The third unplanned situation turned out to be most successful as I manage to exhibit the most appropriate communication behavior in dealing with the situation. This aided in broadening the conversation and indicated an improvement in the communication skill.

7 C. 4 I would like to perform the second unplanned conversation again as it proved to have the most potential in terms of skill improvement. Further performance on the second unplanned conversation would enable me to fully harness the potential being portrayed by the conversation and help me as a person.

7 C. 4 In spite of the fact the idea might sound virtually impossible, I intend to ensure that next time I prepare for the planned conversation so that the conversations are handled and dealt with in a much better way.

Remember that your patterns for communicating interpersonally have been developed over many years. Therefore, you should be neither surprised nor discouraged to find that changing your interpersonal communication behavior takes time. In order for you to take this project to its fullest potential, you may need to continue to modify, implement, and reinforce these new behaviors for far longer than the duration of the project. It is possible, however, to modify the way you communicate, and because the payoff is improvement to our communication and relationship outcomes, changing interpersonal communication is worth the effort. After you have implemented your target behaviors, write a final evaluation addressing the following: